Glucosamine is a nutraceutical supplement that has been shown to provide significant therapeutic relief for arthritis and joint pain. Although the mechanism is not entirely known, it is believed that glucosamine functions to aid in restoration of the cartilage to relieve inflammation in the joints, thereby providing significant benefit to patients.
Presently, glucosamine is primarily derived from harvested natural sources, such as shellfish and other aquatic organisms. Components of the shell or exoskeleton of these organisms are converted into glucosamine using various production techniques. These natural sources are acceptable for producing glucosamine for some applications, but they have limitations. These limitations include the fact that wild shellfish can have significant variations in their composition because they grow naturally under uncontrolled circumstances. The shellfish can vary in such aspects as their size and composition depending upon the growing conditions as well as their species. Also, without control over the growing conditions, the shellfish can be exposed to environmental contaminants, including heavy metals, that can be retained in glucosamine or other products produced from the shellfish. Shellfish harvests are often seasonal, and thus the supply and price of shellfish shows significant variation over time.
A further concern with glucosamine derived from shellfish is that significant portions of the human population have shellfish allergies and are unable to use products that contain ingredients derived from shellfish. A large percentage of shellfish allergens are specific proteins. Shellfish allergens, such as muscle proteins (e.g., tropomyosin) are found in glucosamine derived from the shellfish sources. It is not economically practical, if even possible to ensure that glucosamine products derived from shellfish sources are completely free of all traces of shellfish allergens. Thus, hyper allergenic individuals who must avoid all shellfish products cannot ingest materials derived from shellfish, such as glucosamine.
An additional problem associated with existing sources of shellfish-derived glucosamine is that some of the shellfish supply is harvested from the seas and oceans of the world. Excessive harvest of shellfish could have a great negative environmental impact. Thus, it is believed that some consumers would prefer to use glucosamine that is not harvested at the expense of sea life. Even if the environmental impact of harvesting shellfish is not negative, there remains concern that the supply of wild shellfish is limited in quantity and inconsistent in quantity from year to year.
Another problem associated with glucosamine compositions derived from shellfish is that such compositions are not “kosher.” “Kosher” means fit or proper, and is generally used to describe foods that are prepared in accordance with special Jewish dietary laws. Many people that practice Judaism will only ingest kosher products. All shellfish are non-kosher foods and thus all products derived from shellfish are not considered kosher. Although for certain medicinal applications, a shellfish glucosamine product can receive special dispensation such that it is considered kosher, specially dispensed kosher shellfish-derived glucosamine may be used for medicinal applications only and even then may only be ingested in pill or tablet form. Accordingly, a “fully certified kosher” glucosamine composition (i.e., a kosher product not requiring special dispensation or restricted to medicinal uses in pill or tablet form) is needed. Likewise, many vegans require an animal-product free glucosamine composition and glucosamine compositions derived from shellfish do not meet their dietary needs.
Therefore, a need exists for a source of safe, kosher, non-animal product derived, high-quality glucosamine compositions that can be created economically and with a minimum of environmental impact.